Latest news with #Opta
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
What Mbeumo could add to Amorim's Reds?
Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo could make the switch to Manchester United this summer, so what might the Cameroon international add to Ruben Amorim's side?Well, goals, energy, assists and pace if last season is anything to go Ivan Toney departed Brentford for the Saudi Pro League last summer, very few people would have anticipated the Bees would adapt so quickly and finish was largely down to Mbeumo's partnership with centre-forward Yoane Wissa, as the pair formed quite an attacking Bees scored 66 goals in the league in total and had the highest conversion rate (19.9%) of all teams in the Premier scored 20 of that tally, with only Mohamed Salah (29), Alexander Isak (23) and Erling Haaland (22) scoring more. He also provided seven while the numbers reflect why Manchester United would be interested in the 25-year-old, it is also important to look at the wider picture. Mbeumo overperformed last season according to Opta, scoring 20 times despite having an xG of surpassed his expected goals total by the greatest margin in the Premier League season (+7.74) and also had the highest expected assists total of any player in the league with the 2023-24 season, Mbeumo scored nine goals and registered seven assists in 25 games, while the season before he netted the same amount of goals but one more Opta are right in that he overperformed for Brentford last season compared to his previous three seasons in the Premier League and Amorim will have to push to make sure this new standard from Mbeumo becomes the it is when and how Mbeumo scores that will interest Manchester United fans the most. Mbeumo is viewed as being versatile, dynamic, powerful and fast, and Amorim wants flexible were fast-starters in the Premier League, putting together a unique run of scoring in the opening 40 seconds in three successive games. Mbeumo was responsible for keeping that trend going - scoring after 23 seconds against Tottenham and 37 seconds against West is quite remarkable when there were only 10 goals scored in the Premier League last season with less than a minute on the clock and two are United would certainly benefit from Mbeumo's lively start as the Reds were particularly slow to grow into games last season and left a lot of fans slumping into their seats rather than on the edge of them.A move from West London to Old Trafford is at the talks stage between the clubs, but with no release clause it is doubtful Brentford will be easy-negotiators. United will have to put their hands in their pocket if they want Mbeumo to be their second signing of the summer.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Champions League: In PSG's first, a benchmark for excellence
Kolkata: The Champions League trophy has a new home. One where it could now be a frequent visitor if what a young and skilful Paris St-Germain (PSG) did this summer is any indication. Till Saturday, the Champions League had meant heartbreak for PSG. It was against them that Barcelona showed impossible was nothing, Marcus Rashford helped Manchester United escape to victory and Karim Benzema scored a hattrick as Real Madrid pulled off a heist. Borussia Dortmund stunned them last term and the only time they had played the final before this, PSG had come up short. PSG compensated for all that hurt, for 12 successive knockout round qualifications ending in disappointment, with so much style and substance that the 5-0 dismantling of Inter Milan can now be a benchmark for excellence. Their energy made Inter look inert and, suddenly, very old. And PSG's finesse threw into sharp relief the heavy touches and misplaced passes from the three-time former champions who were in search of a treble not so long ago. 'The image that remains cancels a bit the great season that we have had,' midfielder Nicolo Barella said after Inter's second Champions league final in three seasons. At an average age of 24 years and three months, PSG are the youngest after Ajax in 1994-95 to win the world's toughest club competition. Three days from his 20th birthday, Desire Doue became the youngest to score and assist in a Champions League final, as per Opta. Senny Mayulu is even younger and his combination play with Bradley Barcola, 22, for the fifth goal can be a pointer to the future. PSG caught Inter with their fluid forward play and interchange of positions when they had the ball and pressed them to suffocation when they did not. Doue, the wide right, was on the left to meet Vitinha's defence-splitting pass and Achraf Hakimi, the right back, was where a centre-forward should have been. But PSG do not play a centre-forward so Hakimi did the job with his fourth Champions League goal. This was Hakimi's ninth goal contribution of the season, the most by a defender since 2001, said Opta. None of this was unplanned. 'If I have the ball, I attack, if I don't, I am a defender.' This was how he wanted PSG to play, manager Luis Enrique had said at the start of the season. It showed all night in Munich. With four different scorers – PSG had seven players with five goals in this campaign – the midfield pulling Inter apart to the point that Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan had to be replaced and Gianluigi Donnarumma being alert to a Marcus Thuram shot in the 75th, the winners were close to perfection. 'We were in cruise control,' said Enrique, the only manager other than Pep Guardiola to win a treble with two clubs. Ousmane Dembele, the designated false nine, didn't score but helped create the second, third and fourth goals. For the second goal, Dembele showed his speed, but for the rest of the night he played like a No.10 along with Vitinha, who is supposed to be a deep-lying midfielder. Dembele unhinged Inter's backline with measured passes, and in one instant, with a back-heel. That wasn't all he did. 'Dembele was pressing (Francesco) Acerbi and the centre-backs… He didn't give them room to breathe… would give Dembele the Ballon d'Or for how he defended today!' said Enrique. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did not do what he usually does, draw defenders to him and create space for Dembele or fire accurate deliveries, but scored the fourth goal and helped in the counter-attack that led to the second. That was in the 20th minute and summed up the contrast between the teams. Nicolo Barella thought he had done enough to win a corner-kick – Inter's best chances came from them but Acerbi and then Thuram failed to keep headers on target – only for Willian Pacho to set up the counter-attack. Doue was brilliant in his movements all night, running the length of the pitch to score his first and producing a skilful finish, to another brilliant ball from Vitinha, for his second in the 63rd minute. No goals or assists in his last eight matches and then this. The early goals are PSG's forte, they have scored the most (9) in the first 20 minutes. It slayed Inter who had trailed for only 16 minutes in Europe this term. It is worth pointing out that before this became the biggest margin ever in a Champions League final, four of the last five had ended 1-0. And there could have been more had Dembele not missed from close, Barcola and Doue not gone wide. Victories this comfortable in a final tend to distort reality but as Manchester City rebuild, Inter grapple with the sense of an ending, Real Madrid adjust to life with Xabi Alonso, Liverpool deal with balancing Premier League and Champions League, Arsenal look to step up, Bayern to translate domestic superiority to Europe and Barcelona find a way to improve defensively, PSG will be the team to watch out for. Once a collection of stars, they are now a collective that knows no fear. Bring on the Club World Cup.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
What might next season's Scottish Premiership look like?
With the Scottish Premiership play-offs coming to a dramatic conclusion on Monday, another captivating domestic campaign in Scotland has come to an end.A fourth successive title for Celtic, a spectacular resurgence for David Gray's Hibernian and Scottish Cup glory after 35 years for Mirren continue to defy the odds and their doubters under Stephen Robinson, Dundee United shone on their return to the top flight, while St Johnstone and Ross County were relegated to the Championship, replaced with Falkirk and what exactly does the season just gone tell us about how Scottish football is evolving and can it tell us anything about the season to come? Greater focus on possession & control? Thanks to data supplied by Opta, it is possible to view wider trends across the division and whether the style of football being played in Scotland is the season just gone, compared to the 2019-20 season, there were more passes per game, a higher percentage of passes completed and fewer forward suggests more of a focus on possession and perceived control, choosing the right moment to attack. Only 16.1% of passes made were deemed to be 'long', down from 19.8% in 2019-20. There were also fewer fouls, suggesting a cleaner league overall. Whether or not that is a reflection of refereeing directives or a tactical shift is difficult to assess. Part of that could be behind a move to more foreign managers and head coaches in the Premiership. At the end of the 2019-20 season, there was one manager from outside the UK and Ireland - Daniel Stendel at relegated Heart of Midlothian. There were none at any stage of the following Ange Postecoglou and Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst took charge at Celtic and Rangers, respectively, for the 2021-22 season and more teams outside the Old Firm started to look overseas from there. In the season just finished, Swedish boss Jimmy Thelin got Aberdeen off to a flying league start and ultimately won silverware, German coach Michael Wimmer took charge of Motherwell for 12 matches before returning to his homeland earlier this month, while Finland's Simo Valakari was unable to keep St Johnstone up having been appointed as Craig Levein's successor in October. More goals & better chances What does that change in style mean for the quality of the overall product though? Is the football on show more exciting than five years ago?Well, in short, yes. There were 2.96 goals per game in the 2024-25 season, the highest figure from any of the past five goals are being scored from what Opta define as 'fast breaks' - where teams attack having won possession goalmouth action is no bad thing and 7% of goals in the Premiership were scored from 'fast breaks' in 2024-25. Compare that to 2.9% in 2020-21, or just 2.0% the season are also steadily rising season on season, suggesting a better quality of chances being created across the were 2.9 xG per game across the most recent Premiership season, versus the 2.59 xG registered per game in xG figure still trails some of Europe's other leagues are more goals and higher xG per game in the French, German, Swiss and Norwegian top English Premier League, in comparison to the Scottish Premiership, had 3.0 xG and 2.9 goals per game in 2024-25. New eras beckon in ever-changing Premiership Looking forward, there is a theme of uncertainty and upheaval across the Premiership, with at least - for now - five clubs going into next season under new are without a head coach, without key backroom staff and in a state of limbo as they wait on a proposed takeover by American investors.A major rebuild of the playing squad is once again on the cards at Ibrox but cannot feasibly commence until the vacant roles are filled in the dugout and in the backed the inexperienced Steven Naismith and the unproven Neil Critchley as head coach in the past two seasons, with varying degrees of success, Hearts have changed tack and gone to a tried and test performer. Derek McInnes takes the reins at Tynecastle with no doubts over his credentials and with Tony Bloom's financial backing and Jamestown Analytics' wide-reaching database behind Kettlewell has been tasked with filling McInnes' sizeable shoes at Kilmarnock, while Motherwell and Dundee are still in the market for a new boss after the departures of Michael Wimmer and Tony Docherty, such a tightly-contested division - outwith the Old Firm - it is understandable why so many teams chase fresh ideas and the momentum they can does not guarantee success though and it remains to be seen whether the five new regimes are able to spark a change in fortunes.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who made Opta's team of the season?
Statisticians Opta have come up with a Premier League team of the season based on data collected during the course of the campaign. Check out their XI below - and you can see Troy Deeney's team of the year here, too, with eight players the same. Four of Liverpool's title winners made Opta's team of the year [BBC] Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest) Matz Sels won his first Golden Glove with 13 clean sheets [Getty Images] Nottingham Forest qualified for European football for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign and a significant reason for that was the performance of their defence. Advertisement Goalkeeper Sels only kept one clean sheet in 16 games in 23-24 but this season he's been had 13, the joint most by a Forest goalkeeper in a Premier League season, level with Mark Crossley in 94-95. He also shared the accolade of the Premier League's Golden Glove award - the only other goalkeeper who could match his 13 clean sheets was Arsenal's David Raya. Sels made 120 saves - with only three goalkeepers making more - and enjoyed a save percentage of 72.1%, behind only Jordan Pickford among ever-present goalkeepers in 24-25. He also prevented 4.3 goals according to Opta's xGoT (expected goals on target) goalkeeping model. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) In his final season at Liverpool before a likely move to Real Madrid, Alexander-Arnold signed off as a Premier League champion. He contributed to nine of Liverpool's 86 goals in 24-25 (three goals, six assists), with only two defenders involved in more over the course of the season. Advertisement His exceptional passing ability was once again on show across the season. Among defenders, he ranked in the top three for each of: passes in the final third (673, 2nd) line-breaking passes in the final third (232, second) passes into the box (239, first) chances created (53, 3rd) big chances created (15, joint first), expected assists (7.4, first) expected assists in open play (6.2, first) William Saliba (Arsenal) It was another second-place finish for Arsenal - their third in a row since Saliba's debut in August 2022 - but yet again it was a superb individual season for the France centre-back. Only three central defenders kept more clean sheets than Saliba (12), while the Gunners conceded one goal for every 113 minutes he was the pitch, the best ratio of any central defender in the Premier League. Saliba was also second across all players for successful passes with 2,409 and he completed an incredible 94.6% of his pass attempts, the third best ratio on record by a player to attempt at least 2,000 in a season since 03-04 and the best by an Arsenal player in a single season in that time. Advertisement The recent 1-0 win over Newcastle was also Saliba's 100th Premier League game and his 68th victory, equalling the record for wins in a player's first 100 Arsenal games and going level with Sol Campbell and Lauren. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) Van Dijk was so close to becoming the first player in Premier League history to play every single minute of two different title-winning seasons until he was given a rest for the 3-2 defeat to Brighton on 19 May. For a fourth consecutive season, the Dutchman completed the most passes of any Liverpool player in the Premier League, while this season he ranked top league-wide with 2,680. Advertisement He remains incredibly effective in duels, winning 68.7% this season, ranking him top among players to contest at least 250, while aerially he also ranked first for percentage of aerial duels won, winning 119 out of 165 (72%). Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City) Although it was trophyless season for Manchester City, the performances of Gvardiol were one bright spark. Gvardiol ended the season as the joint-highest scoring defender with five goals, while only Steve Howey in 00-01 (six) has ever scored more among defenders for City in a Premier League season. Gvardiol was key in moving City into attacking areas, ranking second among defenders for both ball-carry distance (7,462 metres) and ball carry progress (4,215 metres). He also made 717 successful passes in the final third and 263 line-breaking passes in the final third - the most of any defender this season. Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool) Operating in a deeper lying role under manager Arne Slot, Gravenberch enjoyed a superb season and was an integral part of Liverpool's 24-25 title win, starting 37 of 38 games and featuring in all 25 victories. Advertisement The Dutchman led all midfielders for interceptions (60), with his tally last bettered by a Liverpool midfielder in 15-16 (Emre Can, 62). He won possession back for his side on 193 occasions - the joint fourth best of any defensive midfielder in 24-25 - while in possession he completed the third-most passes of any midfielder (1,704) and made the most progressive carries of 10 or more metres of any defensive midfielder (118). Declan Rice (Arsenal) Only Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard had more Premier League assists for Arsenal this season than Rice (seven), while his 59 chances created and 16 big chances created are his best personal totals in a league campaign. Advertisement Arsenal's prowess from set-pieces is no secret and nor is Rice's role in it - he created 26 chances from set plays, with only three players creating more, while his expected assists figure from set plays led the way among all players (3.2). The England midfielder was also key in moving Arsenal upfield. He progressed the ball 2,740 metres with ball carries, the most of any Gunners player and third-most of any central midfielder. Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) With 20 goals and seven assists, Mbeumo enjoyed a superb individual campaign, breaking the record for goals and assists combined by a Brentford player in a Premier League season. Only once did he go three appearances in a row without scoring or assisting. Advertisement The Cameroon forward created 70 chances, also a record by a Bees player in one season, while it is a total that only four players bettered in 24-25, and his expected assists total of 9.3 was the joint best of any player. Mbeumo was also deadly in front of goal, finding the net with 23.5% of his shots (20/85), the best figure of any player to attempt at least 70 shots. He exceeded his expected goal (xG) total by more than seven goals (20 goals, 12.3 xG), the best overperformance in the entire division. He continued his excellent record in London derbies, too. Mbeumo scored against all six opponents (Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham) to become the first player in Premier League history to score against six different teams in London derbies in one campaign. Matheus Cunha (Wolves) Matheus Cunha looks set to leave Wolves in the summer transfer window [Getty Images] Cunha's outstanding performances for Wolves this season have put him on the verge of a move to Manchester United. Advertisement Despite Wolves not once entering the top half all season, the Brazilian contributed to 15 goals and six assists which helped them move clear of relegation. Only Raul Jimenez in 19-20 (17 goals, six assists) has ever been involved in more goals in a Premier League campaign for Wolves. Cunha is the first player since Charlie Austin in 14-15 for Queen's Park Rangers to get 20 or more goals and assists in a season where they never played a minute in the top half of the table. Among players to play 2,500 minutes in the Premier League this season, Cunha ranked top - per 90 minutes - for shots attempted (3.8), third for shots on target (1.5) and second for fouls won (2.5). Of his 15 Premier League goals - a joint record by a Brazilian player - five of them were from outside the box, the joint most of any player in 24-25 along with Bruno Fernandes, someone who may be his teammate come the start of next season. Alexander Isak (Newcastle) The records have tumbled for Isak in 24-25. Isak began the season on 31 goals but ended it with 54 and in the process became the leading Swedish Premier League scorer, overtaking Freddie Ljungberg's total of 48 with a double against Nottingham Forest in February. Advertisement In that same game, Isak's two goals took him to 50 in just 76 appearances, the fastest any Newcastle player has reached 50 Premier League goals, breaking Alan Shearer's record of 87. The Sweden forward also achieved something else Shearer never managed - scoring in eight consecutive Premier League appearances, doing so between 4 December and 15 January. Isak was just the fourth player to achieve that feat after Ruud van Nistelrooy, Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy. In December, Isak scored eight goals - more than seven clubs managed that month - and won the Player of the Month. Isak ended the season on 23 Premier League goals, the most by a Magpies player since Shearer's 23 in 01-02, and only Mohamed Salah scored more in 24-25. Advertisement He needed just 46 shots on target to score those 23, with that the second-best conversion rate (50%) from shots on target of any Newcastle player to have 25 or more shots in a season since 03-04. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) Mohamed Salah has won two Premier League titles with Liverpool [Getty Images] Possibly the easiest choice of all time for a player's inclusion in a statistical team of the season, Salah enjoyed one of the finest individual seasons in Premier League history. Many of his astonishing records from 24-25 may not be beaten for many years. The Egyptian was involved in 47 Premier League goals (29 goals, 18 assists), a record in a 38-game campaign to overtake the 44 goal and assist seasons of Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and Erling Haaland in 2022-23. Advertisement Including 42-game seasons, Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer had 34 goals and 13 assists in 93-94 and 94-95 respectively, which Salah matched with his equaliser against Crystal Palace on the final day. With these goals and assists totals, it's little surprise that Salah topped the charts outright for both metrics in 24-25, only the third time a player has achieved that, along with Cole in 93-94 and Harry Kane in 20-21. Salah scored and assisted in 11 different Premier League games this season, four more than any other player has done so in a season. Across Europe's big five leagues, it was the most since Lionel Messi did so 11 times in 14-15 for Barcelona. Sixteen of Salah's 29 Premier League goals were scored away from home, a joint record, while he also added 11 away assists, again a joint record. Advertisement Salah's 27 is the most goals and assists combined away from home in one season. Although Salah did not beat topple the all-time assist record in a season of 20, all 18 of his assists came from open play - that's the second most behind Thierry Henry in 02-03 (20). Salah was also the Premier League's most creative player in open play, making 86 chances and most big chances (27) for his team-mates. Salah had the most shots (130), registered the best xG (25.4) and had the most touches in the opposition box (394).
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who made Opta's team of the season?
Statisticians Opta have come up with a Premier League team of the season based on data collected during the course of the campaign. Check out their XI below - and you can see Troy Deeney's team of the year here, too, with eight players the same. Nottingham Forest qualified for European football for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign and a significant reason for that was the performance of their defence. Goalkeeper Sels only kept one clean sheet in 16 games in 23-24 but this season he's been had 13, the joint most by a Forest goalkeeper in a Premier League season, level with Mark Crossley in 94-95. He also shared the accolade of the Premier League's Golden Glove award - the only other goalkeeper who could match his 13 clean sheets was Arsenal's David Raya. Sels made 120 saves - with only three goalkeepers making more - and enjoyed a save percentage of 72.1%, behind only Jordan Pickford among ever-present goalkeepers in 24-25. He also prevented 4.3 goals according to Opta's xGoT (expected goals on target) goalkeeping model. In his final season at Liverpool before a likely move to Real Madrid, Alexander-Arnold signed off as a Premier League champion. He contributed to nine of Liverpool's 86 goals in 24-25 (three goals, six assists), with only two defenders involved in more over the course of the season. His exceptional passing ability was once again on show across the season. Among defenders, he ranked in the top three for each of: passes in the final third (673, 2nd) line-breaking passes in the final third (232, second) passes into the box (239, first) chances created (53, 3rd) big chances created (15, joint first), expected assists (7.4, first) expected assists in open play (6.2, first) It was another second-place finish for Arsenal - their third in a row since Saliba's debut in August 2022 - but yet again it was a superb individual season for the France centre-back. Only three central defenders kept more clean sheets than Saliba (12), while the Gunners conceded one goal for every 113 minutes he was the pitch, the best ratio of any central defender in the Premier League. Saliba was also second across all players for successful passes with 2,409 and he completed an incredible 94.6% of his pass attempts, the third best ratio on record by a player to attempt at least 2,000 in a season since 03-04 and the best by an Arsenal player in a single season in that time. The recent 1-0 win over Newcastle was also Saliba's 100th Premier League game and his 68th victory, equalling the record for wins in a player's first 100 Arsenal games and going level with Sol Campbell and Lauren. Van Dijk was so close to becoming the first player in Premier League history to play every single minute of two different title-winning seasons until he was given a rest for the 3-2 defeat to Brighton on 19 May. For a fourth consecutive season, the Dutchman completed the most passes of any Liverpool player in the Premier League, while this season he ranked top league-wide with 2,680. He remains incredibly effective in duels, winning 68.7% this season, ranking him top among players to contest at least 250, while aerially he also ranked first for percentage of aerial duels won, winning 119 out of 165 (72%). Although it was trophyless season for Manchester City, the performances of Gvardiol were one bright spark. Gvardiol ended the season as the joint-highest scoring defender with five goals, while only Steve Howey in 00-01 (six) has ever scored more among defenders for City in a Premier League season. Gvardiol was key in moving City into attacking areas, ranking second among defenders for both ball-carry distance (7,462 metres) and ball carry progress (4,215 metres). He also made 717 successful passes in the final third and 263 line-breaking passes in the final third - the most of any defender this season. Operating in a deeper lying role under manager Arne Slot, Gravenberch enjoyed a superb season and was an integral part of Liverpool's 24-25 title win, starting 37 of 38 games and featuring in all 25 victories. The Dutchman led all midfielders for interceptions (60), with his tally last bettered by a Liverpool midfielder in 15-16 (Emre Can, 62). He won possession back for his side on 193 occasions - the joint fourth best of any defensive midfielder in 24-25 - while in possession he completed the third-most passes of any midfielder (1,704) and made the most progressive carries of 10 or more metres of any defensive midfielder (118). Only Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard had more Premier League assists for Arsenal this season than Rice (seven), while his 59 chances created and 16 big chances created are his best personal totals in a league campaign. Arsenal's prowess from set-pieces is no secret and nor is Rice's role in it - he created 26 chances from set plays, with only three players creating more, while his expected assists figure from set plays led the way among all players (3.2). The England midfielder was also key in moving Arsenal upfield. He progressed the ball 2,740 metres with ball carries, the most of any Gunners player and third-most of any central midfielder. With 20 goals and seven assists, Mbeumo enjoyed a superb individual campaign, breaking the record for goals and assists combined by a Brentford player in a Premier League season. Only once did he go three appearances in a row without scoring or assisting. The Cameroon forward created 70 chances, also a record by a Bees player in one season, while it is a total that only four players bettered in 24-25, and his expected assists total of 9.3 was the joint best of any player. Mbeumo was also deadly in front of goal, finding the net with 23.5% of his shots (20/85), the best figure of any player to attempt at least 70 shots. He exceeded his expected goal (xG) total by more than seven goals (20 goals, 12.3 xG), the best overperformance in the entire division. He continued his excellent record in London derbies, too. Mbeumo scored against all six opponents (Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham) to become the first player in Premier League history to score against six different teams in London derbies in one campaign. Cunha's outstanding performances for Wolves this season have put him on the verge of a move to Manchester United. Despite Wolves not once entering the top half all season, the Brazilian contributed to 15 goals and six assists which helped them move clear of relegation. Only Raul Jimenez in 19-20 (17 goals, six assists) has ever been involved in more goals in a Premier League campaign for Wolves. Cunha is the first player since Charlie Austin in 14-15 for Queen's Park Rangers to get 20 or more goals and assists in a season where they never played a minute in the top half of the table. Among players to play 2,500 minutes in the Premier League this season, Cunha ranked top - per 90 minutes - for shots attempted (3.8), third for shots on target (1.5) and second for fouls won (2.5). Of his 15 Premier League goals - a joint record by a Brazilian player - five of them were from outside the box, the joint most of any player in 24-25 along with Bruno Fernandes, someone who may be his teammate come the start of next season. The records have tumbled for Isak in 24-25. Isak began the season on 31 goals but ended it with 54 and in the process became the leading Swedish Premier League scorer, overtaking Freddie Ljungberg's total of 48 with a double against Nottingham Forest in February. In that same game, Isak's two goals took him to 50 in just 76 appearances, the fastest any Newcastle player has reached 50 Premier League goals, breaking Alan Shearer's record of 87. The Sweden forward also achieved something else Shearer never managed - scoring in eight consecutive Premier League appearances, doing so between 4 December and 15 January. Isak was just the fourth player to achieve that feat after Ruud van Nistelrooy, Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy. In December, Isak scored eight goals - more than seven clubs managed that month - and won the Player of the Month. Isak ended the season on 23 Premier League goals, the most by a Magpies player since Shearer's 23 in 01-02, and only Mohamed Salah scored more in 24-25. He needed just 46 shots on target to score those 23, with that the second-best conversion rate (50%) from shots on target of any Newcastle player to have 25 or more shots in a season since 03-04. Possibly the easiest choice of all time for a player's inclusion in a statistical team of the season, Salah enjoyed one of the finest individual seasons in Premier League history. Many of his astonishing records from 24-25 may not be beaten for many years. The Egyptian was involved in 47 Premier League goals (29 goals, 18 assists), a record in a 38-game campaign to overtake the 44 goal and assist seasons of Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and Erling Haaland in 2022-23. Including 42-game seasons, Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer had 34 goals and 13 assists in 93-94 and 94-95 respectively, which Salah matched with his equaliser against Crystal Palace on the final day. With these goals and assists totals, it's little surprise that Salah topped the charts outright for both metrics in 24-25, only the third time a player has achieved that, along with Cole in 93-94 and Harry Kane in 20-21. Salah scored and assisted in 11 different Premier League games this season, four more than any other player has done so in a season. Across Europe's big five leagues, it was the most since Lionel Messi did so 11 times in 14-15 for Barcelona. Sixteen of Salah's 29 Premier League goals were scored away from home, a joint record, while he also added 11 away assists, again a joint record. Salah's 27 is the most goals and assists combined away from home in one season. Although Salah did not beat topple the all-time assist record in a season of 20, all 18 of his assists came from open play - that's the second most behind Thierry Henry in 02-03 (20). Salah was also the Premier League's most creative player in open play, making 86 chances and most big chances (27) for his team-mates. Salah had the most shots (130), registered the best xG (25.4) and had the most touches in the opposition box (394).
